Jackson Wheeler's Story

On the Thursday we were there my team and I decided to go a youth center for homeless teenagers and young adults. We arrived expecting and hoping to talk to the people who were staying there and to help out. The people that greeted us told us otherwise. They were very kind people and knew God's love, but they were firm in telling us that they wouldn't allow us to talk directly with those staying there-the building was called the Covenant Life Center or something simiar. They did however refer us to one of the men in charge of maintaining the building and the area that it encompassed. So we spoke with this man and he quickly had a job for us. We were put to work for seven hours in 95 degree weather painting a portion of wrought iron fence that surrounded the facility. The group handled it really well, I was really impressed.The work was really tedious and physically demanding but still we were happy to do it. I was content with the work we were doing but deep down I wished that there was something extra that I could've done to help. I was happy with the work we had done but I still felt a pang of emptiness that I really wanted fix. But then Matt-Matt Tice our leader-started talking to us. Apparently the fence we had just finished painting used to be routinely painted every two years in order to preserve it. After Katrina they didn't have the funds or manpower to get it done. That day completely unkown or precedented by anyone who worked there-12 kids and 3 adults showed up at their doors with nothing but Jesus' love in their hearts and a desire to serve. They didn't know what was going to happen that day and we definitely didn't know what was going to happen that day and we got to help restore something that meant a lot to them. That experience meant a lot to me and I know that I'll be telling the story to everyone I know.